On the Web Since 1999

October 26, 2013

Welcome Matt

Major League Baseball’s (arcane) rules prohibit the
official release of manager hires during the World Series, but that has not
stopped the excitement in Washington over the news the Nationals have hired Matt Williams
as their new skipper.

Williams, a first-round draft choice in 1986, played
third-base for the Giants from 1987 to 1996. He cracked 247 of his career 378 home runs with San
Francisco, and won three Gold Gloves while handling the hot corner. Williams was also a fan favorite.

The news is front-page in The Washington Post, with articles also
by Thomas Boswell who . Full coverage here and
includes a wacky piece by Dan Steinberg about Bert Griffith, who was Williams’s
grandfather. He played for the
1924 Senators.

The Post piece notes:

People close to
Rizzo believe he had wanted to hire Williams for months. Williams impressed the
Lerner family with his commanding presence in an interview, according to a
person familiar with the process.

Of course, Williams will have to make the East
Coast adjustment, but two other Nationals rookies from the West managed the move quite well...